This invention relates to an improved epilator of the type in which radio frequency energy is applied to a hair through a tweezer.
For many years, the removal of superfluous hair by high frequency coagulation of the root required a needle to be inserted into the follicle containing the unwanted hair. The needle was energized by high frequency electrical energy which coagulated the hair papilla and, thus, killed the hair root after which the hair could be plucked from the follicle. This process was very difficult to control and could result in tissue damage by the insertion of the needle. Moreover, it was painful.
Another type of epilator, disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,888,927 and 3,999,552, provided for the hair to be gripped by a tweezers connected to a radio frequency generator. When the tweezers are energized, the radio frequency energy generates heat in the growth area of the hair, and the hair can be readily removed without pain. With this type of device, the hair is gripped away from the skin and there is no necessity to insert any instrument into the follicle. This type of device avoids the sources of pain and injury that are possible by other methods of hair removal.